Mexico Election #5

Tomorrow's WSJ has an column titled "Democracy Lives" from MARY ANASTASIA O'GRADY who writes the Americas column for the paper. She comments

"The big victory in this race goes to the IFE in carrying out a spectacularly clean, transparent and well-organized election. If institutions matter to development, as Nobel laureate Douglass North contends, then Mexico is well on the way to progress. Mr. Calderón echoed the sentiments of millions of Mexicans when he told me yesterday that watching the electoral process made him "proud to be a Mexican." Mexico's next test will be how it stands up to Mr. López Obrador's threat to call street protests if the IFE decision goes against him."

She rated the election a 10 and then goes on to describe the precision with which the voting took place. It looks increasingly like the AMLO forces will try to pull a Gore here. Mr. Lopez Obrador seems to be practicing the cynical politics of division. Luckily, the Caldreon people are prepared for this. I think the Mexicans have fought to hard for a good electoral system. I think they will not allow it to happen. But we will see in the coming days whether the optimism is rewarded. If AMLO wins the final tally, I expect the Calderon forces will not throw up procedural roadblocks and will accept the results. But the AMLO people do not seem prepared to accept what the Mexican people and the IFE have worked so hard to create. But the Mexico of Salinas and Cardenas is not the Mexico of today.

On this Independence Day in the US, those of us that care about Mexico's continued development will be watching and praying for a good result. The Mexican people seem to have done their part quite well.